Reducing Trend and Spend: Harnessing Healthcare Costs in 2005

Despite signs of cost trend moderation, employers remain critically concerned with the business impact of escalating healthcare costs and are looking beyond cost-shifting to attack the root causes of rising costs. In this special report, "Reducing Trend & Spend: Harnessing Healthcare Costs in 2005," a panel of experts shares ways healthcare organizations are approaching cost control issues, from prescription drugs to consumer-driven healthcare options to disease management. You'll hear from Mary P. Bryngelson, regional vice president, American Healthways, Dr. Bridget L. Eber, practice leader of pharmacy and consumer-driven health strategy at Hewitt Associates and Dr. Terrance Killilea, assistant vice president of pharmacy services for The Regence Group, on strategies for harnessing healthcare costs. This 37-page report is based on the February 16, 2005 audio conference "Controlling Healthcare Costs in 2005" during which Bryngelson, Eber and Killilea described how healthcare organizations are controlling healthcare costs through consumer-driven healthcare strategies, disease management and prescription drug programs. You'll get details on: -Six Key Healthcare Cost Management Levers; -Constructing a Build-Your-Own Consumer-Driven Healthcare Plan; -Steering Prescription Drug Utilization Through Efficacy; -The Regence Group's Evidence-Based Formulary Strategy; -The Disease Management Teaming Processes and Infrastructure at BCBSMN; -Results in Health Outcomes for BCBSMN.Table of Contents The Challenges of Medical Cost Management -CDHP Market Share Forecast -General Trends -Account-Based Plans -Impact of CDHP on Member Behavior -Claim Trends -Employees? Take on Online Health Tools -Talking the CDHP TalkPrescription Cost Management: -Crisis or Opportunity? -Decreased Corporate Profits Lead to Increased Prescription Costs -Growth in Pharmaceutical Utilization -Pharmaceutical Cost Drivers -Designing Benefits to Promote Generics -Disease Management, Education and Technology Key to Pharma Cost ManagementCase Study in Disease Management -Value Proposition for BCBSMN Care Support Program -Care Support Philosophy and Process -Operational Challenges -Teaming Processes and Infrastructure -Positive Results in Health Outcomes -Program Yields Reduced Utilization, Increased Patient SatisfactionQ&A: Ask the Experts -Delivering Innovation and Quality on a Budget -The Influence of Company Size on ROI -Ratio of Participants to Identified Members -Estimating Call Volume -Anticipating Pharmaceutical Costs -Clarifying Improvements in Outcome -Targeting Members After StratificationGlossaryBryngelson, Mary P. is the author of 'Reducing Trend and Spend: Harnessing Healthcare Costs in 2005', published 2005 under ISBN 9781933402208 and ISBN 1933402202.